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Rail Transport
9. Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on present European Commission proposals for rail transport in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend is not aware of any European Commission proposals for rail transport in Scotland which have a direct bearing on his Department's responsibilities.
Mr. Taylor : Is the Minister aware that about 85 per cent. of sea passengers from Great Britain to Northern Ireland go through the ports of Stranraer and Carnryan, and that 30 per cent. of all British sea passengers to Ireland use those two ports? Does the Minister therefore accept that a modern rail system in the west of Scotland is important to service that main route between Great Britain and the island of Ireland? Why are the Government supporting a European Community proposal which would take that business away from the west of Scotland and upgrade the railway line to Holyhead, making that the main route from Great Britain?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Government have given support to Larne harbour, and some £4 million has been made available from the EC's Northern Ireland transportation programme. However, in the case of any proposals from which funds may be made available from the European regional fund, for either Northern Ireland or Scotland, in which we have a common interest, there will be co-operation between officials of the Scottish Office and of the Northern Ireland Office. Stranraer and Carnryan are located within the Galloway EC regional fund operational programme, which received more than £8 million in the same period as Larne harbour obtained assistance. As for the right hon. Gentleman's final question, I will consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, who has lead responsibility for such matters, and then give the hon. Gentleman a full reply, but I agree with the general tenor of the right hon. Gentleman's remarks.
Mr. Wilson : I strongly support what was said by the right hon. Member for Strangford (Mr. Taylor). Indeed, I would like the Minister at some point to give the same strong support as was given by the Northern Ireland Office last week to my proposal that the Ardrossan-Belfast route be revived.
Will the Minister consider, too, other parts of the European Commission's territory? Does he not feel some shame or embarrassment when he looks at the railway map of Europe showing the high-speed links developing all over western Europe and then at what is happening in Britain, and especially in Scotland, in connection with the channel tunnel? Will he confirm that the tunnel will come into operation without direct links with Scotland, and that no interchange has yet been identified, never mind constructed, in London so that Scottish passengers can transfer easily? Will the hon. Gentleman also confirm that there will be no dedicated freight route between Scotland and the channel tunnel?
Looking at the whole picture, does the Minister agree that the level of preparedness in Scotland for the channel tunnel is a disgrace, and represents a potential disaster for the Scottish economy? Before the tunnel comes into
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operation, will the Government take the subject seriously and ensure that Scotland will not be further disadvantaged by its advent?Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The hon. Gentleman has asked a number of questions and I shall deal with them one by one. First, British Rail can and will consider changes to its proposed services in connection with the channel tunnel, if it is satisfied that there is a demand for additional services.
The hon. Gentleman also asked about what would happen before the channel tunnel services start operating in 1994. Manufacturers have not yet been able to quote a firm price and delivery date to British Rail for the specially modified rolling stock required. But British Rail still plans to run night passenger services and freight services from the day that the tunnel opens. With regard to access before 1994, overnight through services are still planned to start when the tunnel opens. Before then the east and west coast main line routes will have services into Waterloo, so that passengers have a convenient interchange for the inter-capital train service. Finally-- [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman asked a lot of questions and he is entitled to an answer. Talks are taking place both with United Kingdom and with Northern Ireland officials about upgrading into a European high-speed rail network throughout Europe, and those talks are going ahead.
Several Hon. Members rose--
Mr. Speaker : Order. It would be helpful to other hon. Members if single questions were asked.
NHS Trusts
10. Mr. Harry Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospitals in Forth Valley health board's area have applied for trust status.
Mr. Lang : An application for trust status has been received from the Royal Scottish National hospital, Larbert.
Mr. Ewing : Has the Secretary of State seen the proposed management structure for the Royal Scottish National hospital at Larbert, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan)? The hospital will have a chief executive, a director of planning, a director of finance, a director of clinical services, and a director of nursing and quality assurance. How many beds will have to be closed to pay the enormous salaries that those people will command? If the English example is anything to go by, they will be given free cars into the bargain.
If the Government are at all interested in patient care, why does not the Secretary of State do the sensible thing and, as they would say in Falkirk, throw the whole mad idea into the bucket?
Mr. Lang : I have not seen the submission to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but it is for the Forth Valley health board to carry out the detailed and comprehensive consultation process according to the published criteria. However, I understand that although the number of patients at the hospital has been reduced, the number of staff has substantially increased.
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Mr. Canavan : Does the Secretary of State agree that the successful running of any hospital depends largely on the existence of a harmonious relationship between management, staff, patients and the community? The management proposal for the Royal Scottish National hospital to become self -governing has been clearly rejected by 95 per cent. of the staff, by the patients' relatives association, by Central regional council as social work authority, and by countless organisations and individuals in the community. Will the Secretary of State please get it into his head that if he gives the go-ahead to the management to proceed in the face of such widespread opposition, it will be a recipe for conflict and chaos which will be completely against the interests of the mentally handicapped patients at the Royal Scottish National hospital?
Mr. Lang : The consultation process will be based on published criteria which include benefits to patients, managerial capacity, the involvement of senior professional staff in the management of the trust and financial viability. It is the hon. Gentleman who should get it into his head that the reason why we are advancing the trust status proposals is that we believe that they will improve the quality of care and the delivery of health services in Scotland. Against the background of the vast improvements that the Government have generated over the past 12 years, we have every right to expect the hon. Gentleman to believe that and to support the proposals.
Angiograms (Glasgow)
11. Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on how many people are awaiting angiogram examinations within the Greater Glasgow health board area.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : At 31 December 1990 the number of patients on the Greater Glasgow health board cardiology waiting list, which includes angiography, was 656. The mean waiting time for those patients admitted in the three-month period up to December 1990 was 44.7 days.
Mr. Martin : Heart specialists to whom I have spoken are very worried about the length of the waiting time for angiogram examinations. As the Minister knows, the examinations can determine whether a patient should go on to have heart surgery. In some cases, however, angiography can be used in relation to remedial treatment for patients who will not need surgery. Many of the surgeons are worried that patients are kept waiting for so long that often by the time they are examined and it is discovered that they need heart surgery, they are too weak to undergo such surgery. Does not that mean that the long waiting list is placing some patients under sentence of death?
Mr. Forsyth : The hon. Gentleman is right to emphasise the importance of the size of the waiting list, but I should point out to him that while in September last year the figure was 753, by December it had been reduced to 656--a reduction of 12.88 per cent. I will ensure, however, that the concern that the hon. Gentleman has expressed is drawn to the attention of the Greater Glasgow health board in the hope that further progress can be made.
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Scottish Bus Group
12. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the sale of Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries to be completed ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Within the next few months. Although the target date of April 1991 set out in the disposal programme for the Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries has not been met, satisfactory progress is being made.
Mr. McAllion : Scottish Office Ministers justified the privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group on the grounds that it would create new and vigorous Scottish-based companies and encourage employee participation. Why, then, has the Minister thrown out employee bids in at least two Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries and sold the companies instead to a private predator from south of the border in one case, and to a predator company boasting among its directors the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) in the other? Does the Minister not understand that the Scottish bus industry is not a plaything for him to palm off to his party's friends but a vital national service for which he has shown himself unworthy to hold responsibility?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The hon. Gentleman is quite wrong. We have followed the terms of the disposal programme exactly and have made it quite clear that the principles under which we operate are sustained and fair competition. We support employee participation and the maximisation of sales proceeds. We have given preference to management-employee buy-out teams--
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The answer is Lowland Scottish, Scottish City Link, Eastern Scottish and Kelvin Central Buses, and that has been done regardless of price, although a 5 per cent. preference was stated in the disposal programme, which is working extremely successfully so far.
Magnetic Resonance Imagers
13. Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the present state of the implementation of the proposals for the provision of magnetic resonance imager scanning equipment for hospitals in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : An order for five new magnetic resonance imagers, at a cost of £4.3 million, has been placed with Siemens UK. Those machines are now being manufactured and site surveys have been carried out at the hospitals chosen.
Mrs. Adams : Is it not the case that, to save money, the Minister approved the purchase of 0.5 Tezler MRI scanners? As the hon. Gentleman probably knows, those scanners are totally inadequate for head scanning. Greater Glasgow health board had to top up money to buy the more adequate 1.5 Tezler scanners. Is the Minister satisfied that in Aberdeen and Dundee, where 0.5 Tezler scanners were also purchased, those scanners are adequate? Would it not have been better to look into the matter more thoroughly and, instead of saving money, to go for the best rather than the cheapest?
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Mr. Forsyth : The answer to the hon. Lady's question is no. Clearly, I am relying on medical advice in this matter. I have been given the advice that the machines purchased were adequate for health service needs, but some health boards have sought to get models with more powerful magnetic fields--[ Hon. Members :-- "Why?"] Because of particular needs that they have.
This matter has been drawn to my attention as a result of the hon. Lady's question and I shall inquire to ensure that the advice that I have been given was correct. In addition to the £4.3 million for those machines, which I hope that the hon. Lady welcomes, we shall also meet the additional costs of installation that the boards will face. If what the hon. Lady suggests were the case--if the 0.5 Tezler machines were not adequate--I assure her that I would seek to have the position changed, but that is not my information.
Community Charge
14. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the 1990-91 community charge in Scotland has been collected.
Mr. Allan Stewart : Based on the latest collection figures for 1990- 91 issued by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and using local authorities' own payment assumption rates, overall around 76 per cent. of budgeted community charge income for 1990-91 has been collected so far. In some areas, the figure is more than 90 per cent.
Mr. Bruce : My hon. Friend will know that many local authorities have decided to charge the cost of non-payment to charge payers this year. Can he take any action against local councillors, especially from the Scottish National and Labour parties, who urged people not to pay and are now charging their own charge payers extra money to pay for that scandalous advice?
Mr. Stewart : My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is widespread outrage among community charge payers at the fact that they are having to pay for those who have not paid the community charge. My hon. Friend is also right to refer to the actions of a number of councillors from Opposition parties, although it has to be said that the leaders of those parties have now called off the so-called non-payment campaign.
Mr. Maxton : When will the Minister stop hiding behind the smokescreen of the ludicrous non-payment campaign run by the Scottish National party and admit that the genuine non-collection of poll tax in Scotland is almost entirely due to the total unworkability of the tax? If he recognises that, why does he not institute an emergency programme to deal with the crisis that is developing in local government and will cause enormous problems for all local authorities throughout Scotland unless he takes immediate action to deal with it?
Mr. Stewart : The hon. Member has not explained to the House why the figures are so variable. The reason is that where local authorities have taken determined action early on to keep on top of the problem, such as in Borders and Grampian, they have continued to obtain reasonable collection levels. It is true that there has been a slow-down in payments due to the delay in re-billing because of the reduced headline charge, the Government having reduced the charge by £140. To meet that problem the Government
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will ensure that by the end of June Scottish local authorities will have received £281 million more in central Government grant than they otherwise would have done. Frankly, it is up to local authorities to pursue non-payers.Rural Transport
17. Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of Strathclyde regional council to discuss rural transport.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : My right hon. Friend has received no request from Strathclyde regional council to discuss rural transport.
Mrs. Michie : The Minister may be aware that Strathclyde regional council has delayed yet again the upgrading of three vital roads in my constituency. That is making them very dangerous, particularly during the tourist season. Year after year Strathclyde regional council has done that because it says that it does not have enough money in its roads budget. Might that be partly because the regional council has to finance roadworks on the M8 motorway? Is that not a Scottish Office responsibility?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : We are spending some £145 million on trunk roads in Scotland. However, the hon. Lady's complaint is about the allocation by Strathclyde regional council. I shall certainly draw her remarks to the attention of the chairman of the highways committee concerned. In recent years we have enormously increased the resources for trunk roads. Priority is being given to the upgrading of the M74, which is going ahead very speedily.
NHS Trusts
18. Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the total funds allocated by the Scottish Home and Health Department to health units seeking to investigate trust status.
19. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance he has given to health boards regarding the use of board staff premises and other resources in the promotion of applications for hospitals to opt out of health board control.
Mr. Lang : Units applying to become NHS trusts will remain part of the national health service. It is appropriate, therefore, that health boards should provide
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adequate support. To that end, and to assist in the implementation of the NHS reforms generally, all boards have been given additional resources.Mrs. Ewing : In giving additional resources to health boards and units seeking further information on opt-out status, is the Scottish Home and Health Department prepared to keep very close supervision over how that money is spent? For example, will it be spent on private dinner parties, or will it be spent on public meetings to enable all the people in the relevant areas to be well advised of the various implications of the proposals being placed before them so that they can take a clear and objective decision?
Mr. Lang : The hon. Lady may be assured that the way in which the money is spent will be carefully supervised. The object of the exercise is to obtain the best possible input of information, opinion and well-argued cases so that a proper decision can be taken, based on the criteria that I outlined earlier.
Mr. Foulkes : As my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) said earlier, GPs in Ayrshire have now voted overwhelmingly against NHS trust status, consultants have voted against it and all local ballots show that the public are against it. Is it not therefore a disgrace that public money is being spent on staff time and on Mr. Donald MacNeill's time in promoting NHS trusts, that board property is being used to promote it, and that no similar amount of public money is being used to put the other side of the case? Is not that political propaganda and a matter which ought to be investigated by the Comptroller and Auditor General?
Mr. Lang : I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will agree with me that it is desirable that the proposals should be put together openly and freely, using available resources, rather than cobbled together in some back room. The hon. Gentleman will surely share my view that we want to get the highest possible quality of proposals coming forward so that we can consider the desirability of such applications advancing. As for the GPs, it is highly illogical that they should vote against the sort of contracts that most of them enjoy. I can reassure them that GPs will continue to have rights to refer patients to trust status hospitals and that such hospitals will remain part of the national health service and will continue to treat NHS patients free of charge. The objective is to improve services and the delivery of health care.
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